Danny Phantom, Not Bothered
by SimplyMe51
Summary: Once you travel into the ghost zone every week, get thrown into walls every other day, and battle ghosts every day - once you become a superhero - the little things just don't bother you any more.


You walk down the halls with Sam and Tucker as Dash calls out a mangled version of your last name and all you can do is roll your eyes and wait for it to be over.

He saunters closer, calling out lame insults as he approaches, but that only serves to amuse you further. Really? That's the best he could come up with? You've suffered death threats from hundreds of ghosts - as well as some of their lame insults - and it's really stopped bothering you as much as it should.

You give your friends a look and they're not bothering to hide their laughter. They've heard the same insults you have, albeit at a distance, and really, Dash's are quite amusing, especially when he calls you wimpy. If only he knew about your after school - and often during school - activities.

But he doesn't and so you suffer through his rather pathetic attempt to humiliate you, not even bothering to respond. You know that your bored expression confuses him, he doesn't beat on you nearly as much as he did freshman year, but you can't find it in yourself to act concerned. When he ends his threats by shoving you in a locker you merely sigh in exasperation, going intangible so as to be more comfortable as soon as the door shuts and waiting it out in the wall until Sam or Tucker opens the door.

You could simply leave but that's much too suspicious and would raise a lot of questions that you'd rather not answer. You hear Dash walk away and the locker door reopens, your friends smiling faces greeting you.

"Did you hear what he said?" Tucker barely manages to say through his laughter, causing your own grin to widen.

Sam doesn't think bullies are a laughing matter but even she cracks a grin as all three of your minds go back to what Dash had said.

You walk down the hall with them, the three of you laughing and talking about the worst insults you've ever heard, comparing Dash to Skulker and debating about who is smarter. You think Skulker's the smarter one, but only because of the technology that he puts into his suit. Of course, you're careful not to say anything too loudly, you're still in school after all, but as always the majority of the population ignores your little group.

* * *

Once upon a time you were bothered by this, but that part of your life has passed. You think to how you used to want to be popular, about how you used to think Paulina was perfect, and you wonder how you could have ever been so naive. Popularity doesn't interest you anymore, in fact you prefer the opposite, and as the A-listers call out insults to the three of you as you pass their lunch table you don't even take notice. You don't want to say they're beneath you, because that's derogatory and implies that you think you're better than them, but in truth it's really just not worth your time. You spend so much time these days fighting ghosts and protecting your town that you've learnt the value of having any free time at all. Even free time in the cafeteria with your friends is still free time and you're not going to waste it by exchanging insults with the popular kids.

* * *

Unfortunately your breath fogs up and you resign yourself to the fact that there is yet another ghost to deal with.

The Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost appear in the middle of the room and everybody screams, panicking as they run from the room and you don't even bother to find a place to hide. Soon enough the room is empty except for you, Sam, Tucker, and the ghosts - Sam and Tucker still eating their lunch, completely unconcerned about the duo that appeared.

You'd think by now the rest of the school would be the same but they still don't seem to be able to distinguish between ghosts and the Box Ghost scares them as much as Vlad would. You don't even bother to shout 'Going Ghost' as you shift forms, grabbing your thermos and pointing it at them in annoyance.

They don't attack though, instead handing you an invitation and wishing you a good day. You take it, confused, and realize that you've been invited to a wedding. You've been wondering when this would happen ever since you met Boxed Lunch but it still surprises you and you shrug uncertainly when they ask if you'll be able to make it. You let the two soon-to-be-married ghosts go on their way, making them promise to return to the ghost zone, and turn back to Sam and Tucker, asking if they think you'll have to wear a tux.

When the rest of the school returns to the cafeteria they find the three of you sitting calmly, lunches finished, as you discuss the latest math homework. They call the three of you weird, labeling you as freaks, but despite the mean words you're almost grateful for it - in a weird kind of way. You're not bothered that you're among the outcasts at school but your status as an outcast means that the words Phantom and Fenton are never uttered in the same sentence and ensures that no one could ever possibly consider you as a superhero. And so you're actually grateful to their obliviousness, as odd as that may be.

* * *

School's end means crashing at one of your three houses so you head to Fenton Works with your friends, knowing that your house is closer. Your parents are in the kitchen, blabbering on about ghosts and how evil they are and how much they'd like to study them.

As you sneak past them, up to your room with Sam and Tucker, you think about the fact that that no longer bothers you. It should, you know that. Your parents desiring to rip your alternate self apart molecule by molecule shouldn't be something that you easily dismiss. It should unsettle you. It should make you wary to be around them. It should worry you every time they become suspicious of your activities. It should especially bother you when they're shooting at you after you just saved the city from yet another ghost. But it doesn't.

Because whatever their feelings about ghosts are, you know they'll always love you. You've got proof. The alternate reality with your dark self, the summer with Freakshow and the Reality Gauntlet - both times your parents had discovered your duel identity. Both times they had accepted you for what you were.

The only reason you haven't told them is that you know the danger it would put them in, know that once they knew they'd be extra targets for your enemies. (The ghosts are usually strangely respectful of the fact that few humans know about your human form.)

* * *

After the three of you get in as much homework as you can, it's time for patrol. Sam and Tucker usually come with you, on their scooters of course since they can't fly, but often the three of you separate so as to cove more ground.

Flying around, you perch precariously on a billboard as you study your town.

Gravity doesn't really affect you as much as it does other people. You'd never exactly been scared of heights, but now they mean nothing to you. You can fly and hover. You can turn intangible before you hit the ground if you fall.

Why would heights matter to you? Fifty feet or five hundred, it makes no difference.

* * *

Ghosts keep you up late that night, meaning you're late for school the next morning, and the teacher that greets you is happy to give you a detention. That's more of an annoyance than anything as well. Detentions can actually be helpful.

You know they're meant to discourage bad behavior, but they're not going to stop you. If anything, you're being punished for good behavior, for saving lives even if no one knows about it.

Extra time shoved in a small classroom might be a punishment to most people but they're often the only time you manage to sit down and work on homework. Detention to you isn't a bother, sometimes it's a break from the crazy that is your life.

* * *

Before detention though, you get cornered by Dash yet again. It seems that your indifference yesterday wasn't enough to put him off - that or he got a bad grade on a test again.

This time though, you've actually got something to worry about. You're still hurting from your battles last night (or was it this morning, technically), but you can't let him know that. You have to act like his shove into the wall is painful, all while hiding your limp and still healing fingers that had been broken only hours ago.

Pain tolerance is nice when fighting a ghost, not so nice otherwise. It's not just that you're used to it either, your ghost form has literally made you stronger and increased your endurance. It takes more to hurt you.

* * *

You try your hardest to act normal, pretending you don't have ghostly strength or agility, pretending that you can't phase through walls, pretending that your reflexes are terrible, but there are some things that are so instinctive to you that it's hard to stop yourself. As your years as a superhero pass people notice things about Danny Fenton. They notice his complete disregard for heights. They notice that he never complains or in fact mentions the bullies that he deals with. They notice that insults seem to just roll off him and that sometimes he even laughs along with the bully, seemingly amused when they call him weak or a coward. People can't help but notice that not much seems to bother Danny Fenton. They notice that when bullies approach it's not fear in your eyes but annoyance. They notice your worry when you see complete strangers in danger.

You try your hardest but it's hard to be something you're not. You've got so much to worry about anyway that you don't have time to keep up the facade of being bothered by heights or acting afraid of common bullies.

You've got to worry about your life every day, not to mention the lives of all the people you protect. You've got to worry about school, and the fact that you're almost always late for class. You've got to worry about your friends and all the people you care about. You've got to worry about keeping your secret and hoping that no one ever realizes that there's such a thing as half ghosts.

So, it's hard to pretend to be afraid, whether of heights or bullies. It's hard to feel upset by cheap insults when there are ghosts whose main goal in their life is to end yours. Some days you almost think it's harder to be Danny Fenton than Phantom because Phantom doesn't have to pretend to be bothered.

* * *

**AN: Alright, so the ending is basically the same as the Spider-Man one but what can I say - they're very similar. Besides, I'm working with a model for these stories, trying to make them all similar, hope it didn't turn out too badly.**

**Let me know if you liked it!**


End file.
